Sensex falls 500 pts, Nifty tests 19,500 in opening deals on geopolitical tensions; what experts say

As anticipated, the domestic equity market opened in negative territory on Monday, October 9, amid geopolitical tensions.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine during the weekend unnerved global markets and saw crude oil futures prices jump 5 per cent in early trade.

The S&P BSE Sensex slipped as much as 561 points, or 0.85 per cent, to 65,434.61 levels, while the broader Nifty50 index of the NSE tumbled 173 points, or 0.88 per cent.

Moreover, all sectoral indices were trading deep in the red.

“The Israel-Hamas conflict has introduced huge uncertainty for the markets. Nobody knows how this war is going to evolve. From a market perspective, it is important to understand that even though the death and destruction are tragic, they are unlikely to cause major disruptions in oil supplies, thereby impacting major oil importers like India. But the situation will change if Iran, a major Hamas supporter, is drawn into the war. That can disrupt oil supplies, causing a spike in crude, which can trigger a risk-off in the market,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

This is a time to be cautious. Investors may refrain from taking big risks. Wait for the developments to unfold. Long-term investors can slowly accumulate high-quality stocks on declines, the expert added.